Interior corner guard for plastic laminates

Abstract

To prevent the cracking of plastic laminates used to make kitchen counter tops and the like, necessitating the formation of interior corners in the laminates, a clip-like interior corner guard having a corner filler element is slipped over the laminate at the interior corner to strengthen such corner against bending likely to cause cracking during necessary handling of the laminate prior to final fitting and installation. The corner guard can be molded from a tough plastic.

I claim: 
     
       1. A guard to resist cracking of sheet material in areas of the material where bending stresses are concentrated, said guard comprising a pair of stiff bend-resistant plate elements in spaced parallel relationship, and a filler element of predetermined thickness disposed between and secured to the plate elements near corresponding ends thereof with major portions of the plate elements extending beyond the filler element in cantilevered relationship relative thereto, whereby the guard may be engaged over an edge of sheet material in an area where bending stresses are concentrated to resist bending in such area and thus prevent cracking of the material, said filler element being a right angular element adapted to be fitted into an interior right angular corner of sheet material subject to high bending stresses in such corner, said guard and plate elements being roughly triangular and the right angular apex of the filler element lying on a common center line through the apex of the guard most distant from the filler element, and said guard and plate elements being in the form of an isosceles triangle and said filler element being in the form of a right isosceles triangle with the bases of the two triangles disposed along a common edge of the guard most distant from the apex of the guard, whereby there is a substantial distance between the apices of the two triangles. 
     
     
       2. A guard as defined in claim 1, and the three corners of the guard being rounded and the right angular apex of the filler element is rounded. 
     
     
       3. A guard as defined in claim 1, and the base of the guard along said common edge extending equidistantly outwardly beyond the terminals of the base of the filler element along said common edge, whereby said plate elements extend on opposite sides of the filler element as well as longitudinally in one direction beyond the filler element. 
     
     
       4. A guard as defined in claim 1, and finger grip means on opposite sides of the guard along the edge thereof nearest to the filler element. 
     
     
       5. A guard as defined in claim 1, and a pair of converging gauge lines on opposite sides of the guard and coinciding with the side edges of the filler element forming the right angle of the filler element, said gauge lines substantially intersecting the edge of the guard forming a common base line for the plate elements and said filler element. 
     
     
       6. A guard to resist cracking of sheet material particularly at interior corners of the material where bending stresses are concentrated, the guard comprising a pair of stiff bend-resistant plate elements in spaced parallel relationship, and an interior corner filler element of predetermined thickness disposed between and secured to the plate elements along an edge common to the plate elements and filler element, the filler element extending forwardly from said common edge for a substantial distance between the plate elements and the filler element having side edges which converge forwardly from said common edge to define an angle adapted for insertion in an interior corner of said sheet material when the guard is engaged with the material, and the forward ends of the plate elements projecting substantially forwardly from the apex of the angle defined by the converging side edges of the filler element to proqide broad areas of contact between the plate elements of the guard and sheet material to which the guard is engaged to resist cracking thereof.